12 hrs in Toronto

[WinterWine]

Does anyone have recommendations for Toronto? My H and I are currently on vacation in S. America and have a 12 hr layover in Toronto on our way home. We land at 5:30 am, depart at 8:30 PM. Neither of us have been, but are hoping to explore the city a bit and see the sights. Unfortunately we'll likely be lugging backpacks with us as our carry on bags. Anything we should definitely see or do?

Apologies in advance if my responses are slow, working with hotel wifi abroad.

[seabitch]

We went to Toronto several years ago for New Years Eve. We enjoyed just exploring the city. The waterfront area is nice. The CN tower is fun to go up in.

[more adventurous]

When we were in Toronto for about 24 hours we went and saw the Hockey Hall of Fame. It probably isn't everyone's cup of tea but we are both big hockey fans and we had a good time. It was also attached to what seemed to be a nice mall. I also wanted to see Casa Loma but we ran out of time and I did end up reading that some people think it's lame. Seems pretty though.

If you end up over off of King Street West we went to a pub that we really enjoyed called Old York Bar Grill. It probably wouldn't be the same during the day but we liked the vibe at night and the food was good.

[lg28]

Logistically, Pearson airport is nowhere close to downtown so you will need to account for customs, baggage claim and travel downtown. Perhaps rugbywife can tell you how best to get there. I would only plan on having about 6-7 hours max of free time.

Personally I would precook tickets to go up the CN tower if you want to do that. I am a big fan of casa loma so I would do that and some lunch.

[rugbywife]

I need some details…

weekday or weekend? Are you coming in nationally or internationally, are you leaving nationally or internationally?

[WinterWine]

Thanks for the recs ladies!! We 'll be there on Tuesday. Coming in from Chile, departing to the US. Customs will take a bit but we both have Nexus which should help.

I'll have to check on tickets for the tower, that sounds fun! Just generally hoping to explore a bit.

[rugbywife]

Okay...so I wouldn't count on being out of their airport til 7 and then about an hour in traffic to get to Toronto proper. If your flight is at 8:30 you need to be there by 6:30-7, which means traffic on your way out too. To be safe I would leave Toronto by 5pm.

If you drive to the downtown core you could do quite a bit from 9-5...I have never been to the CN tower but obviously it is a big draw tourist wise. There is an aquarium there now too. Middle of the week it won't be insane. Not far away there is the Art Gallery of Ontario, a lifts further is the Royal Ontario Museum. Both are nice.